This is a continuation-in-part application from a parent U.S. application Ser. No. 189,326 filed Sept. 22, 1980, now abandoned.
The present invention relates to a novel sheet-like connector used for electrically connecting two electronic circuit boards or, more particularly, to an adjustable and readily solderable sheet-like connector capable of being deformed to be imparted with a desired bent form most suitable for connecting two particular circuit boards as sandwiched therebetween at the contacting terminal portions thereof with reliable bonding by soldering in a high working efficiency.
Sheet-like connectors have a structure that a set of electroconductive paths running substantially in parallel with each other are provided on a sheet of an electrically insulating material such as a plastic or rubber sheet. The electroconductive paths of such a striped pattern are formed, for example, by printing with an electroconductive ink or paint on the surface of the insulating sheet. It is of course that printing with an ink or paint modifies or influences the mechanical properties of the insulating sheet only very slightly so that the connectors obtained also have mechanical properties not so widely different from the unprinted insulating sheet per se. Therefore, the sheet-like connectors of the prior art are more or less elastically resilient depending on the elastic properties of the insulating sheet base.
Such elastically resilient sheet-like connectors are of course useful for some applications but subject to serious inconveniences in other applications, for example, due to the incapability of complying with delicately curved surfaces so that the working efficiency of assembling electronic instruments including one or more of such sheet-like connectors built therein is sometimes greatly reduced.
Furthermore, it is sometimes desirable that the electroconductive paths on the connector and the contacting terminals on the circuit board are bonded by soldering to ensure good electric connection therebetween instead of being electrically connected by mere contacting under pressure by use of a suitable clamping means. The soldering work to make electric connection therebetween is extremely cumbersome and time-consuming because the conductive paths on the connector and each of the contacting terminals provided on the circuit board in a large number are usually very fine or small and they must be soldered point by point even though certain improvement in the working efficiency may be obtained by the robotization of the working process.